Key Facts
- Hangul: 목; Revised Romanization: mok
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Native Korean (no hanja)
- Register: Neutral everyday word; colloquially also covers the throat.
Neck in Korean: What Does 목 Mean?
목 is the part of the body that joins the head to the shoulders. Its second everyday job is the throat. Koreans say 목이 말라요 for "I am thirsty" (the throat is dry) and describe a hoarse voice with 목이 쉬다. That throat sense is colloquial, so be ready for both readings whenever you hear it.
The word is neutral and plain. You can use it with a doctor, a hairdresser or a friend without changing anything. For the inner throat opening, as opposed to the outside of the neck, Korean has the separate word 목구멍.
How Do You Pronounce It?
목 is a single syllable, mok. The vowel is a short "o" as in "more", and the final ㄱ is not released: the back of your tongue closes on the k with no puff of air, so the word stops sharply.
The ㄱ only becomes audible when a vowel follows. Add the subject particle and 목이 is heard as mo-gi, exactly as the romanization mogi in the first example shows.
Listen to the headword here.
Example Sentences with 목
목이 아파요.
Mogi apayo.
My neck hurts.
The classic complaint. 이 marks 목 as the subject and 아파요 means "hurts". On its own it may mean a sore neck or a sore throat, which is the trap in the mistake section below.
목이 말라요.
Mogi mallayo.
I am thirsty.
This one has nothing to do with the neck. A dry throat is how Korean says thirsty, so use it when you want a glass of water.
목에 스카프를 둘렀어요.
Moge seukapeureul dulleosseoyo.
I wrapped a scarf around my neck.
에 marks where the scarf ended up, and 둘렀어요 is the past tense of wrapping something around. A scarf sits on the neck, so there is no throat reading here.
Common Phrases and Collocations
These three phrases show how far 목 stretches. One is about thirst, one about a voice and one about movement.
| Korean | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 목이 마르다 | to be thirsty |
| 목이 쉬다 | to be hoarse |
| 목을 돌리다 | to turn one's neck |
The Mistake to Avoid
- Wrong: Assuming 목이 아프다 always describes a sore neck.
- Correct: In everyday speech it often means a sore throat. When it matters, add 목이 붓다 or 목감기 so the listener knows which part you mean.
If you are describing a stiff neck after a long flight, point to the back of your neck while you say it. Gesture settles the question faster than vocabulary does.
목 Compared with 목구멍 and 가슴
목 sits between two nearby words, and each one marks a different part of the upper body.
| Word | Meaning | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| 목 | neck; colloquially throat | The outside neck and, in speech, the throat. |
| 목구멍 | throat (inner) | The inner throat opening only. |
| 가슴 | chest | The chest, which sits just below the neck. |
Where Does the Word Come From?
목 is a native Korean word, so it has no hanja to break down. It is one of the short body words worth memorising as a single unit, together with its throat meaning.
Explaining Which Part Hurts
Two coworkers talk after a morning at their desks. The first line is ambiguous, so the listener asks a follow-up question about swallowing.
Mina
목이 아파요.
Mogi apayo.
My neck or throat hurts.
Jisu
침을 삼킬 때 아파요?
Chimeul samkil ttae apayo?
Does it hurt when you swallow?
Mina
아니요. 고개를 돌릴 때 아파요.
Aniyo. Gogaereul dollil ttae apayo.
No. It hurts when I turn my head.
The first sentence alone does not settle “neck” versus “throat”. 삼킬 때 identifies swallowing; 고개를 돌릴 때 identifies turning the head. These details explain the intended sense without making the listener guess from 목 alone.
What Do the Set Phrases Describe?
목이 쉬다 means to become hoarse: the phrase concerns the voice. 목이 마르다 means to be thirsty: the literal dry-throat image expresses a need for a drink. Neither phrase is normally a comment about the skin on the outside of the neck.
목을 축이다 literally means to moisten the throat and commonly means to have a drink or wet one's throat. You may hear it around a pause for water during a walk or a long conversation. It focuses on taking a little drink, rather than naming a full meal.
목이 빠지게 기다리다 is an idiom meaning to wait eagerly or for what feels like a very long time. The literal image is waiting until one's neck comes out from stretching to look. In a drama about someone awaiting a visitor, the phrase expresses anticipation or impatience, not a physical injury.
Where Will You See 목 outside a Body Diagram?
Clothing descriptions use 목 for the neck area. In 목에 스카프를 둘렀어요, the location marker 에 tells you where the scarf is wrapped. 목걸이 means necklace, another familiar word built around something worn at the neck.
목소리 means voice. A conversation about a singer's 목소리 concerns the sound of their voice, while 목이 쉬다 describes hoarseness. Recognizing 목 inside these words helps connect the vocabulary, but the full compound has its own meaning.
| Korean | Meaning | Why learn it beside 목? |
|---|---|---|
| 고개 | head, especially in movement | Used when turning, raising or lowering the head. |
| 어깨 | shoulder | Names the area beside the base of the neck. |
| 뒷목 | back of the neck | Specifies the rear neck area. |
| 목소리 | voice | Connects 목 to speaking and singing. |
The body parts vocabulary lesson teaches the surrounding set. 뒷목 gives a more exact location than 목 if the back of the neck is what you mean. 고개 is useful for movement, as the dialogue shows; it does not replace 목 as the name of the neck.
Quick Self-Test
- Does 목이 아파요 by itself settle neck versus throat?
- What does 목이 쉬다 describe?
- Is 목이 빠지게 기다리다 about an actual neck injury?
Show answers
- No. The surrounding situation or a follow-up detail makes the meaning clear.
- A hoarse voice.
- No. It means to wait eagerly or for a very long time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you say neck in Korean?
The word is 목 (mok). It is neutral and fine in every situation.
Does 목 also mean throat?
Yes. In everyday speech 목 often covers the throat, which is why 목이 말라요 means "I am thirsty". The inner throat opening is 목구멍.
How do you say "I am thirsty" with 목?
Say 목이 말라요. The fixed phrase 목이 마르다 literally describes a dry throat.
Is 목 the same as 가슴?
No. 가슴 is the chest, which is the part just below the neck.
Related Words and What to Learn Next
- Theme list: body parts vocabulary. 목 sits in the body parts vocabulary list with the other body words.
- Index: Korean words A to Z.
- Practice: add 목 to the vocabulary flashcard decks.
- Next: the word for nose. Another body word comes next: the word for nose.